When oxidation dyes of the type comprising primary intermediates and couplers are used in the dyeing of human hair, the procedure usually involves the use of a two part system. One part is the lotion formulation which contains a variety of ingredients, including the oxidation dye precursors, and forms a gel immediately prior to application to the human hair, when mixed with the second part, the developer formulation containing a suitable oxidizing agent. The developer usually contains an oxidizing agent, such as hydrogen peroxide and as a consequence some of the natural melanin pigment of the hair may be initially destroyed. The precursors in the lotion penetrate into the hair and are oxidized to produce the desired color. Such systems will generally contain 50% or more of organic solvents and surfactants, and require relatively high levels of dye precursors to produce the desired color.
several conditions are important for the procedures using oxidative dyes to work properly. These include:
1. The formulations must be stable to insure a reasonable shelf life. PA1 2. The compositions formed by mixing the lotion and developer must have theological properties whereby application, either by use of a brush or with the fingers, can readily distribute the dye throughout the hair mass and yet in the absence of stress, dripping or running from the hair during the color development period can be substantially avoided. PA1 3. The dye mixture, as applied to the hair, should allow rapid diffusion of the dye precursors from the dye mixture into the hair fiber. PA1 4. The mixture, while thick enough to stay in place during the color development period should be readily rinseable from the hair with water. PA1 5. The mixture should preferably contain conditioning agents which leave the hair in a condition such that it is easy to detangle while wet and also feel smooth and be readily managed when dry. PA1 6. The lotion and developer should preferably, but not necessarily, have comparable viscosities in order to facilitate mixing. PA1 7. The dyeing effect should be rapid, with a dyeing time preferably under thirty minutes.
In conventional permanent hair dye products, the reological properties have generally been attained by the use of a dye lotion containing a high level of surfactants and organic solvents to provide a thin lotion which, on mixture with a highly aqueous developer solution of the oxidizing agent forms a dye mixture with the desired gel-like consistency. The disadvantage of this approach is that the dye mixture still contains a high level of surfactants which tend to retard the diffusion of the dye precursors into the hair. The preferred surfactants in commercial products have been nonionic or anionic materials which do not provide any conditioning. The preferred conditioners for human hair are cationic surfactants which provide excellent conditioning but are incompatible with anionic surfactants.
There have been many efforts to produce oxidative hair dyeing compositions having the desired properties, listed above, while at the same time avoiding the aforesaid problems.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,303,213; 3,331,781; 3,436,167 and 3,891,385 describe the use in hair treating compositions of specific amphoteric surfactants such as the sodium salt of N-(N.sup.1, N.sup.1 -dimethyl-aminopropyl)-N.sup.2 -alkyl (fatty) asparagine wherein the "fatty" moiety is derived from the fatty acids of tallow. According to the patents, the amphoteric surfactant can be employed with organic solvents and any of a variety of cationic, anionic or non-ionic surface active agents. There is no indication of the use of quaternary ammonium salts in the compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,700 describes hair dyeing compositions containing quaternary ammonium compounds and also cites the possible uses of amphoteric surfactants in the compositions. These compositions, however, require the uses of organic solvents and nonionic surfactants, and the amount of water in the compositions is less than 50%.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,127 describes hair coloring compositions containing oxidative dyes together with an oxidizing agent. The compositions require the presence of quaternary amine compounds containing two long chain alkyl radicals each having about 10 to 26 carbon atoms. Any of a variety of surfactants may be present in the composition which, although they have a high water content may contain organic solvents. The lotions of the patent contain di-long chain alkyl quaternary ammonium compounds in the presence of relatively large amounts of non-ionic surfactants. They are said to be superior to a comparison lotion containing a mono-long chain alkyl quaternary ammonium compound in combination with an amphoteric surfactant. The lotions of this patent suffer from the disadvantage of having high levels of surfactant thus inhibiting rapid diffusion of the dye precursors into the hair. Furthermore, di-long chain alkyl quaternary ammonium are poorly biodegradable, particularly as compared to the mono-long chain alkyl quaternary ammonium compounds. The compositions disclosed are free of anionic surfactants and anionic polymers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,158 describes hair conditioning compositions containing an amphoteric surfactant together with at least one quaternary cationic polymer such as poly (methacrylamidopropyl)trimethy ammonium chloride sold under the trade name Clairquat-1. The compositions are acidic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,188 discloses hair dyeing compositions containing specific para-phenylenediamine derivatives which may contain any of several types of surfactants as well as organic solvents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,538 describes oxidative hair dyeing compositions containing specific para phenylenediamines and N,N.sup.1 diphenylalkylenediamines. The compositions may be acidic or alkaline. They may contain organic solvents and anionic, cationic, non-ionic or amphoteric surfactants.
It is known to thicken hair lotion/developer mixtures by the use of water soluble polyacrylic acid polymers such as those known under the CTFA dictionary names polyacrylic acid or carbomer. When these thickeners are incorporated in the alkaline dye lotion they produce a thick cream or gel which is difficult to mix with the aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution. Furthermore, it has been observed that these water soluble polymers are not stable in aqueous hydrogen peroxide solutions.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 33786 teaches that rapid dyeing with highly aqueous compositions can be achieved through the use of a certain acrylate copolymer viz an acrylate/steareth-20 methacrylate copolymer in the developer. Such polymers produce a thickening effect only when the developer is added to the alkaline lotion containing the color precursor. The disadvantage of the use of acrylate copolymers, or any other anionic polymer, is that they tend to deactivate quaternary ammonium conditioning compounds by complexation. Furthermore, products containing a simple aqueous acrylate system are difficult to rinse from the hair. Additionally, experience has shown that lotions and developers containing the specific anionic copolymer of U.S. Re. Pat. No. 33786 are difficult to formulate in that the viscosity of the resulting mixture is not readily controllable.
It is an object of this invention to provide stable hair dyeing compositions which avoid the aforesaid problems while at the same time providing rapid dyeing permanent hair coloring systems having excellent rheological properties. The compositions of the invention are readily rinseable from the hair at the completion of the color development stage and leave the hair in excellent condition.
It is a further object of the invention to provide lotions and developers which can be readily formed into a gelled mixture having an appropriate viscosity to remain on the hair for a sufficient period to achieve the desired hair coloring effect.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a two part composition which may be free of organic solvents and contain substantially lower amounts of surfactants than has generally been heretofore employed.